Chapter 21: The Clean-Shaven King

Chapter 21:
The Clean-Shaven King

 

ONE DAY AT SUNSET, I saw Ririka the elf wandering around outside the drugstore.

What’s she doing? If she’s buying something, she should just come in. “Hey, Ririka.”

“Eek!”

“Mina isn’t here. She’s shopping.”

“I’m not here to see Mina.”

“Oh. I figured you were looking for her.”

“That’s not why I came by.” Ririka cleared her throat, trying to change the subject. “It’s kind of hard to explain why I’m here. Um…I need to confide in you.”

“You sure? In me?”

Now and then, female customers consulted Mina about issues they didn’t want to explain to me. There were lots of sensitive things women preferred not to discuss with men; at least, that’s what Mina told me once.

Ririka thought it over for a moment and nodded. “Um…I heard the drugstore has a treatment that…gets rid of hair.”

“Hair-removal cream? Yeah, we do.”

“That’s not what I mean. Um…ugh! Why do I have to buy this?!” Cradling her head in embarrassment, Ririka continued, “Hair-removal cream isn’t powerful enough. I’m asking for something stronger.”

“Seriously?” Our hair-removal cream was designed to get rid of pesky hairs easily.

“You’re a man, Reiji—wh-what do you use?” Ririka asked hesitantly.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, um, you get stubble, right?”

“Oh. Not much. I’m good from shaving every three days.”

When I’d first arrived in Kalta, I wasn’t used to this world’s razors; I’d nicked myself repeatedly. Now, though, shaving was no big deal. Still, why was Ririka asking about that? “Wait, don’t tell me…!”

“I-It’s not what you think!” Ririka shrieked. “I’m not growing a beard!”

No? For real?

“Don’t look so doubtful!”

“My bad. But if you’re talking about hair as tough as facial stubble…” And if she needs something that works like hair-removal cream… “Uh, o-okay, wait here! I’m g-gonna go get Mina.”

“Why’re you freaking out?”

“I mean, do you want to talk to me about such a delicate spot?”

“You’ve got it all wrong, you dummy!” Ririka shrieked. She blushed; steam nearly came out her ears. “It’s for Kururu’s beard!”

“Oh, so that’s it! You should’ve said so earlier! I was freaking out.”

“No, I was!”

Since there were no other customers, I had Ririka sit so we could talk properly. “Kururu’s beard has gotten really thick recently, and he can’t shave it very well,” she explained. “He tried your hair-removal cream, but it didn’t last long, and his beard got even thicker.”

“For real? That cream suppresses hair growth.” Is he absurdly hairy or something? “Why isn’t Kururu here to consult me himself?”

“He said, ‘I could never face Reiji baby like this!’ He got furious at me for suggesting it.”

“What is he, a child?!”

“He’s just weirdly modest sometimes.”

Ririka had it tough. I understood why she’d had such a hard time explaining the issue.

“However much he shaves, he gets five o’clock shadow,” she sighed. “I came here hoping you could help.”

“Uh-huh. I get it now,” I assured her. “I’ve never had that issue with my stubble, so I’ve never formulated anything for it.”

Kalta’s citizens didn’t seem to care about shaving their facial hair. The old farmers, innkeeper, and general store owner all had beards. Actually, it was much rarer to see someone without some sort of beard or mustache. In Japan, you typically shave before work, I reflected. But hey, it makes sense that my culture is different.

Still, I supposed there were exceptions to the rule in this world, like Ririka’s delicate brother.

“Do you think you can make something more powerful?” she asked.

“Yup. After all, we had stronger hair-removal products in the other world.”

“Other world?” she tilted her head.

“Never mind,” I said quickly, then asked her to wait a bit.

I was the only one home, but since the drugstore had had few walk-ins today, I figured it’d be okay to leave for a couple minutes. I entered the lab and started working.

So that occasionally cleft-chinned Kururu’s got five o’clock shadow, huh? Man, his character just keeps evolving.

Since Kalta didn’t have the same facial-hair styles as Japan, I wasn’t sure whether I could sell the product I was creating. Still, there was no harm in making some.

“This should work just fine.”

 

Clean-Shaven King Shaving Gel: Provides smooth shaving experience when used on thick hair. Creates protective layer between skin and razor, moisturizing and preventing cuts.

 

Mina got home just as I finished. When I headed back into the drugstore, she and Ririka were chatting. “Perfect timing, Mina! Can you watch the store?”

“I’m happy to. Are you going out?”

“Uh…well, yeah. Not that I want to. I’m heading to Kururu’s.”

“Oh, all right! Take care!”

Ririka and I left together. I showed her the shaving gel.

“Is this really a new product? You didn’t take long to make it.”

“It wasn’t very complicated,” I replied. “I’ve made something similar before.”

“I see.” Ririka seemed content with that.

I followed her quite a distance from town to the elven woods. I’d heard about the area before, but this was my first time visiting. The forest was clearly well cultivated, unlike the others I’d been to.

We passed lots of elves as we went farther in; I hadn’t seen many of them in town. It all felt new to me—especially because, up till now, the only elves I’d gotten to know were Kururu and Ririka.

Finally, we arrived at the house where the siblings lived together.

“Here we are.” Ririka opened the door and peeked inside. “Brother? Reiji made you a new treatment.”

“Really?! Reiji baby did that for me?”

Ririka gestured for me to enter, so I followed her in. “Hey.”

“Eek!” Kururu let out a rather feminine shriek, seeking cover. “Wh-what’re you doing here?!”

“Well, I haven’t actually tested this stuff yet,” I replied. “I want to see its effects in person.”

“I’m delighted that you’re worried about your crush’s plight, but since I’m dealing with a personal emergency—”

His stubble is a personal emergency? Not even knowing when to interrupt, I opted to ignore his complaints entirely. “Hold Kururu down, Ririka.”

“All right!”

“Wh-what’re you doing?! Stop that, Ririka! I-I can’t possibly show Reiji my stubble!”

“Oh, shut up for once!” Ririka smacked him.

Kururu toppled over with a loud thud. Will he be okay?

“I think Kururu will keep quiet for a bit, Reiji!” Ririka exclaimed. “Now’s your chance!”

“Uh…what do you mean? I’m pretty sure you knocked him out.”

Ririka rolled her prone brother onto his back.

I gasped. “Talk about five o’clock shadow! That’s unbelievably fast hair growth.”

“He looks fine after he shaves, but then it grows right in.”

That stubble’s ridiculous—is it trying to match his personality?

Ririka handed me a shaving brush, and I plastered some drugstore gel around Kururu’s mouth. Then I had her bring her brother’s razor. “You should really leave this sort of thing to the pros, but…”

“It’s fine. Do what you have to.”

“Could you get me some gloves? I don’t want to risk ending up super hairy.”

“Wha—?! Is stubble contagious?!”

Not at all, but I don’t want it sticking to my bare hands!

Pulling on the gloves, I gripped the razor and started shaving. Swish…swoosh…swish…

“Whoa—amazing! Bare skin! My brother finally looks like himself!”

“This is actually pretty fun,” I said.

Ririka was nearly weeping. This really makes her that happy?

“Thank goodness, Kururu,” she murmured. “Now you won’t have to shave every half hour.”

“You weren’t kidding when you said this was a problem, huh?”

“He can finally depart this world clean-shaven.”

“He ain’t dead!”

We kept babbling for about ten minutes, and the old Kururu finally emerged. I’d been nervous, because I’d never shaved someone else; thanks to the gel, though, I managed not to cut him. As the finishing touch, I spread some hair-removal cream on Kururu’s face, since it slowed hair growth.

“Wake up, brother!”

“Don’t. He’ll just be a pain.”

We’d gotten rid of the thick-haired elf’s five o’clock shadow.

 

***

 

A few days later, I put the shaving gel on sale. Once I described it to the drugstore’s male customers, it proved a decent seller. At the end of the day, I guess everyone wants a comfortable shave.